What is CyberPatriot?

CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program. At the center of CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. The competition puts teams of high school and middle school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services in a six hour period. Teams compete for the top placement within their state and region, and the top teams in the nation earn all-expenses paid trips to Baltimore, MD for the National Finals Competition where they can earn national recognition and scholarship money.​

The Anoka CyberPatriot Team has earned its way to the Regional Finals in 2016 and 2017 and have been one of the top Civil Air Patrol teams in Minnesota for the past 5 years.

CyberPatriot Competition Timeline

Teams form in late spring/early summer. We participate in the training rounds of competition to help new team members learn about the operating systems and initial vulnerability categories.

Scored practice rounds are in September/October
Round 1 in November and Round 2 in December determine your Tier Placement (Platinum, Gold or Silver).
The Platinum Tier is the only path to the National Finals.
Teams compete in their tier placement in the State Round in January.
State scores determine if you move to the Regional Round in February.
National Finals are in March.

FAQ: Do I need to be a computer genius to be on the CyberPatriot team?

No. You need to be willing to learn about cyber security and put in the work to do it.

FAQ: I’m a parent or senior with cyber security background. Can I be a coach or mentor to the team?

Yes. Please connect with Maj Albright if you are interested in supporting the CyberPatriot team.